Lighting Design Alliance Joins Salas O’Brien To Expand Design Reach
Salas O’Brien, a multidisciplinary engineering and technical services powerhouse, announced this week that Lighting Design Alliance (LDA) has officially joined its growing team. The move brings together two respected names in the built environment.
LDA is globally known for its award-winning architectural lighting. Its portfolio includes the Jio World Centre in India, The Londoner Macao, and the Chimelong Spaceship Marine Science Park—a project recently featured in designing lighting global (dlg). Notably, the Jio World Centre has received multiple honors, including a 2024 IES Award of Merit, an LIT Design Award, and a National Lighting Bureau Tesla Award.
Salas O’Brien, an employee-owned ESOP, operates 85 offices across the U.S. and 7 more in Canada.
Javier’s DTLA (Downtown LA) in collaboration with Atelier Gulla Jonsdottir. Photography credit: Art Gray
A Shared Vision for Design Excellence
In the official announcement, LDA Co-CEO and President Kyllene (Kelly) Jones shared her enthusiasm for the merger. “We have always believed that great lighting can inspire people and elevate the ordinary,” she said. “We’re excited to bring our passion and perspective to Salas O’Brien and continue creating designs that connect and transform the human experience.”
I caught up with Kelly while she was in Orlando, onsite for a photo shoot of the Universal Epic Universe Theme Park. She offered additional insight. “This merger creates exciting new opportunities for both our team and our clients,” she told me. “We’ve always shared the same vision—now we have even more possibilities to bring that vision to life.”
I knew that LDA had strong Disney relationships, but I was not aware of their work with Universal. Curious about Epic, I asked for more details, as I hope to cover the project in a future article. Kelly explained that LDA designed everything to support Universal Creative—from the grand entryway and portals to each attraction of Celestial Park, inside and out. More than 1.5 million lights were commissioned specifically for the nighttime show.
Honoring Legacy and Looking Forward
For more than three decades, Lighting Design Alliance has helped shape the architectural lighting landscape. Their work blends aesthetics, sustainability, functionality, and technology—an approach that aligns seamlessly with Salas O’Brien’s integrated service model. I also spoke with LDA Co-CEO and Founder Chip Israel, whom I spent some time with last month at the Targetti CATIRPEL event in Paris. At the time, I had no idea he was in merger talks.
Chip highlighted the loyalty of his team. He shared that 25% of LDA’s staff have been with the firm for more than 20 years. “This merger is a way to reward and continue to incentivize the team,” he said. Although the merger is only a few days old, Chip noted that new lighting design opportunities are already flowing in through Salas O’Brien’s offices.
Next month, Chip will receive the esteemed Louis B. Marks Award. This honor, named after the first President of the IES, recognizes exceptional service of a non-technical nature.
Congratulations to Chip and Kelly and the teams at LDA and Salas O’Brien!
Go Deeper: Lighting design firms continue to evolve. In June, we reported on the transition at Available Light.